Battle of Micellar Water

In this post I’m gonna share my favourite micellar water and the reasons why.

Micellar water for me is the breakthrough of the century and I want to personally thank whoever invented this lifesaver. I lead busy daily life, thus, I need fast and effective (and reasonably-priced) face cleanser because I still want that perfect complexion. Seriously, who wants to go to work and face people everyday with any look but fresh? I don’t. And thanks God that I have no hormonal/diet-induced acne, so I’d better maintain my face properly.

As you might actually know, I turned into a big fan of DIY and natural home remedies skincare 2 years ago. I’m not completely clean of sulphates, parabens, and the likes, but I try to avoid as much as possible.

I still have facial wash just like in my post here, but I don’t use it on regular basis. Perhaps, it’s only once biweekly. I still love sheet masks, they feel like heaven. However, I’m more selective in face cleansers. Since I try to stay away from facial wash, I need something to grab to clean my face after work. I know I’m tired and bed is much more appealing than cleansing my face, but still, commitment is needed to ensure perfect complexion. I consider micellar water as my favourite go-to cleanser product because:

It mostly mimics my pursued quality of OCM oil but it’s water. Compared to soap/facial wash, I think micellar water is still efficient. It’s back to your mindset again: whether you try to clean your face or to feel “squeaky clean” by using facial wash. Well, since religiously cleansing my face using OCM, “squeaky clean” is out of my vocabulary.

Micellar water comes in handy for the purpose of cleansing my face. I’ve tried 4 different brands so far. Let’s check ’em out.

Bioderma Sensibio

This is my earliest experience with micellar water. When it was still so hype and unavailable in Indonesia, I purchased it at Sephora Dubai. My first impression was:

fragrant

clear

amazing

leaving my skin a bit squeaky

I thought that I would have fallen in love with this Sensibio, and yet Sebium came out. Sebium offered me the promise of controlling sebum in my oily face. So I moved on to the next, Bioderma Sebium.

Bioderma Sebium

I purchased Bioderma Sebium when it hadn’t made its debut in Indonesia. So I bought it in Hongkong International Airport duty free section. This one did its good job as its counterpart in cleansing my face, but the fragrance was stronger than Sensibio. Luckily, mine was only 100ml which could be finished not more than 2 months (I didn’t use it daily).

Nivea Make Up Clear Micellar Water

Since I updated my skincare arsenal with anything that suits my conversion to natural skincare remedies, micellar water wasn’t listed in my daily routine anymore. I always opt for OCM which takes me more time, but effective.

However, there are days that I feel I just want to skimp on anything (including cleansing my face) and hop on my bed ASAP after a long day of work. On these days, micellar water is the only logical solution that I trust. Building back my experience portfolio of micellar waters, Nivea launched its own last year. I bought one because the no-paraben, no-fragrance, no-colorant, no-preservatives, no-ethanol promise seemed appealing.

My first impression was I fell in love with its no-fragrance thing. This is the first thing that crossed my mind when I intuitively compared it to Bioderma. Fragrance is something that I want to stay as far away as possible from. This is the winning quality of Nivea.

It did its good job in cleansing my face and it dissolved makeup easily — in micellar water world. Obviously, for cleansing heavy eye makeup and foundie, OCM is still the winner, though. Hitting the pan, I switched to the next drugstore-priced micellar water that is still raved by beauty bloggers today: Garnier.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

I bought Garnier in a drugstore of a mall near my home. I bought the pink one for sensitive skin. What won my heart so I decided to buy was the “ophthalmologically-tested” promise. I wear contact lenses occasionally, especially in times when I have to wear full-face glam makeup for special events. Therefore, I also have mascara for contact lens wearers.

My overall impression for Garnier micellar cleansing water is it smells less than Nivea’s. Although both don’t contain artificial fragrance, Nivea smells worse than Garnier. Plus, Garnier feels more “squeaky clean” than Nivea. In short, Garnier has the cleansing qualities as in Bioderma, but it has added value of no fragrance and smells better than Nivea.

Verdict

After comparing those 4 micellar water brands, I pick Garnier if I ever repurchase.

Thanks for reading and please share your favorite micellar water in the comment sections below.